Hands-on: the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive

by Christopher Grant { Nov 11th 2006 at 9:53PM }

As if the Wii and PlayStation 3 weren't enough for one weekend, Microsoft sent us their upcoming Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive to tinker around with. After the ritual unpacking, we hooked it up -- using a simple USB cable to the 360 and (yet another) power adapter -- installed the software patch they provided with the unit, and got right into a movie. Initial impressions of the HD-DVD drive is that it delivers an incredible image for the high-def inclined; however, it's yet another box to add to your growing arsenal of electronics.

For gamers with high-def displays and Xbox 360s, the $200 HD-DVD player provides a (relatively) affordable path to high-def discs, but with Microsoft's recent announcement of downloadable high-def rentals, we imagine plenty of consumers will be willing to wait this format war out. More pics of the package and a video after the break.

Power, one USB out, two USB in, and a mounting plate for the WiFi adapter.

Tags: blogathon06, DVD, Hands-on, HD-DVD, HDDVD

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Iced_Eagle @ Nov 11th 2006 9:57PM

*Drool*

I envy those who are getting one of these! I'm not going to get it cause in a few months time, I'm moving into a new apartment and I won't have an HDTV more than likely, so normal DVD's would be just fine for me.

Sponge @ Nov 11th 2006 10:00PM

Size difference of this and the Wii would be nice.

B @ Nov 11th 2006 10:03PM

You guys got a lot of goodies this past few days.

Gil @ Nov 11th 2006 10:05PM

The more people not buying the HD-DVD add-on, the larger the Blu-Ray install base will become thanks to the PS3. By the end of 2007, there will no longer be a format war because Blu-Ray will be the clear winner by then.

stumpie @ Nov 11th 2006 10:08PM

Got mine at GameStop on Friday. I called two different GameStops in Pasadena and asked them how many units they had. One store only had 2...the other store had 4. All of them were spoken for through pre-orders of which I had one.

Makes me wander how many of these are out there for sale this Holiday.

If you bought one of these...please call all of your local video rental stores and ask if they carry HD-DVD. If they get enough calls they will start carrying them.

A local BlockBuster rep told me that they may be getting some HD-DVD titles for rent next Tuesday. I'll believe it when I see it.

nick @ Nov 11th 2006 10:10PM

Just like that huge UMD installed base the PSP brought us.

Mr BoomStick XL @ Nov 11th 2006 10:15PM

#4 this is for you, I'm sure by your one-way comment that you are a Sony Suck-Boy!! I'm sure that it will take off like the whole UMD thing(FAILED)!! Blu-Ray movie are going to cost over $40.00, as much as a game.No thanks!!

BklynKid @ Nov 11th 2006 10:16PM

Nice videos the last couple of days, but what's the deal with using netscape-video-whatever-theyre-called?

s7r1k3r @ Nov 11th 2006 10:19PM

so true #6 LOLLLL

Matt. T @ Nov 11th 2006 10:20PM

Now that you got a PS3 and a Xbox 360 HD-DVD. How about you get a multi-platform movie like MI:3 and com,pare image quality.

Sponge @ Nov 11th 2006 10:21PM

It won't matter how many people have the blu-ray drive if none of them buy the MOVIES for it. Same problem with UMD movies, people just didn't buy the movies. My PS3 will never play a blu-ray movie, except for the free one.

Darren Tilley @ Nov 11th 2006 10:28PM

Blu-Ray is hardly comparable to UMDs considering the UMD format was designed exclusively for the PSP, whereas Blu-Ray is a standard format used by standalone players.

Not backing either format myself, as things are way too messed up to call a winner yet, but comparing UMDs and Blu-Ray is frankly retarded.

Chuck @ Nov 11th 2006 10:32PM

I got mine today. My hdtv upscales 1080i to 1080p (Its a Mitsubishi) but it looks goreous.

Pulse @ Nov 11th 2006 10:47PM

Lol, why does MS not put thier money where thier mouth is, they say HD-DVD is superior etc etc, and how it will definatly win, but they didn't take the chance and build it inside the 360 like Sony did. Thats not confidence, thats uncertainty.

Its being sold seperatly incase it fails 360 owners can chuck it :P

scoobydiesel @ Nov 11th 2006 10:49PM

pretty sweet, the option to pick 360 or the hd drive when in the menu was really cool i think, very simple...but cool.

Xyzzy @ Nov 11th 2006 10:49PM

#12 - Blu-Ray is a SONY standard (with help from others). HD-DVD is actually approved by the DVD Forum. Sony is trying to pull an end around like Microsoft did with IE (trying to circumvent standards).

icruise @ Nov 11th 2006 10:50PM

For the record, it's only a "wall wart" if it's one of those plugs that has the power supply and plug in one. That does not appear to be the case with this.

Xyzzy @ Nov 11th 2006 10:51PM

#15 - It wasn't included in the 360 for two reasons. One, it gives buyers a CHOICE. Don't want highdef movies in your game system? Save $200. The second reason was that HD-DVD wasn't even finalized when the 360 came out.

Mothra @ Nov 11th 2006 10:55PM

I cannot believe this requires a separate power adapter, that is seriously lame. PS3: Blu-ray inbuilt and NO power brick to speak of.

Now I haven't chosen sides in any of these matters, so please don't flame me, but right now, despite the PS3's size on it's own, the 360 is getting clunky.

Xyzzy @ Nov 11th 2006 11:01PM

#20 - You're missing a major advantage for the HD-DVD add-on (that you don't get with the PS3): You can plug the drive into your PC if you want. It's already been tested and it works great (although most people don't have software capable of playing the movies yet). Very flexible.

Steve2 @ Nov 11th 2006 11:06PM

Xyzzy:
BluRay has far more backers than HD-DVd.

BluRay has
hardware:
Sony, Samsung, Pioneer
studios (exclusive):
Sony, MGM, Warner, Disney, Fox

HD-DVD has
hardware:
Toshiba
studios (exclusive):
Universal
etc:
Microsoft (codecs)

Sony is not the company pushing a go it alone standard here, Toshiba is.

Pulse @ Nov 11th 2006 11:10PM

lol, oh no, aren't we lucky, we get a curvier brick then we did last gen with the original xbox, still lethal to your feet if you happen to drop it by mistake, the only difference this time is instead of the controller being the chunky uncomfortable culprit, we have a chunky power unit hanging from the back taking up space where ever you put you Xbox, making it next to impossible to ever put next to my tv, plus all these external add ons which will end up sticking out all over the place if I am crazy enough to buy all :S

I'll be tripping up all the time on loose wires lol.

JimJimBinks @ Nov 11th 2006 11:16PM

Got the drive on Friday. I noticed the difference right away. I showed my wife Batman Begins on HD-DVD and she didn't notice a huge difference (Probably 'cause it's such a dark movie. But I saw the difference) Showed her King Kong and it blew her away.

Optimus Prime @ Nov 11th 2006 11:19PM

LOL that add-on is bigger than the Wii.. great feat of engineering for ya!.. ahahhahaaa

I want to see a case mod where they put the Wii inside the HD-DVD add on.

Xyzzy @ Nov 11th 2006 11:21PM

#22: Your post has a lot of inaccuracies.

1) RCA and Microsoft make hardware for HD-DVD.
2) Warner is NOT exclusive to BD; in fact, they have better movies (currently) for HD-DVD
3) Sony has yet to release a BD player...
4) HD-DVD isn't region coded, and many movies are being distributed overseas on HD-DVD (not BD) and therefore can be imported into the US with ease.
5) Disney and MGM are both rumored to be on the fence about supporting HD-DVD, due to dismal movie sales. ( http://www.thedvdwars.com )

DVD Forum is a standards board; that's what I meant about Sony making their own standards.

If the PS3 does spur BD movie sales, then BD may win. If the majority of people use their PS3 for games, then BD will die.

lets just put the gun down and we go get me those fries @ Nov 11th 2006 11:32PM

6. Just like that huge UMD installed base the PSP brought us.

Posted at 10:10PM on Nov 11th 2006 by nick 0 stars

ooh thank you i was hoping someone would say that. you wanna know what was wrong with the UMD, two things, too small so there was no space for extras, and the UMDs CAN ONLY PLAY ON THE PSP. well the bdrs can play on computers, other blu ray players, and some companies are making hd dvd blu ray hybrid players. im glad NONE of you have a position to influence anything because most of you guys are idiots.

Pulse @ Nov 11th 2006 11:35PM

King Kong blew me away without all this HD business, why do I need to see it again in better quality :S Its not even that fantastic a movie, lol.

Pulse @ Nov 11th 2006 11:36PM

If anything, surround sound makes more difference then quality does, we go to the cinema for the experience of every noise, every slam of a door, every dramatic part to a movie, not hd quality, if that was the case, the cinema would have died ages ago :P

Once I have my dolby surround sound while playing a game or watching a movie plugged to my mega buffer speakers, the tv quality can be fairly good as long as it is on wide screen, the quality I doubt I would ever even stop to notice :P

h00ters @ Nov 11th 2006 11:37PM

Hey Joystiq, would it be possible if you could maybe upload your videos to something like youtube instead? Because the format you put it in takes a lot longer to donwload, seeing as a lot of countries broadband speeds aren't up to scratch compared to the rest of the world. E.g I live in Australia and i have 1500k, which is the fastest mainstream broadband if you aren't on what they like to call ADSL2+.

Eric @ Nov 11th 2006 11:40PM

When Joe-six-pack walks into a Walmart see's "HD DVD" and "Blu-Ray", what do you think is going to happen? J6P has heard of "HD" for a while now and might understand that it's a High Definition DVD. What will he think of Blu-Ray?

The1 @ Nov 11th 2006 11:40PM

I got my HD-DVD this afternoon from Gamestop and I must say KING KONG looks AWESOME. I do not mind having an external drive as a HDDVD player because MS will make it work with Vista enabled PC's.

Ben H @ Nov 11th 2006 11:46PM

i wonder how long this so called format war is gonna last...im the person who is gonna sit back and wait for a clear winner before shelling out 200 bucks for a HD DVD drive.

Optimus Prime @ Nov 11th 2006 11:53PM

"1) RCA and Microsoft make hardware for HD-DVD."

MS dont make HD hardware; they might make the casing around the Toshiba drive around the HD-DVD add-on, but, that aint the same thing.

"3) Sony has yet to release a BD player..."

What do you think the PS3 is?

"4) HD-DVD isn't region coded, and many movies are being distributed overseas on HD-DVD (not BD) and therefore can be imported into the US with ease."

Are you making this up?

"5) Disney and MGM are both rumored to be on the fence about supporting HD-DVD, due to dismal movie sales. ( http://www.thedvdwars.com )"

meh

"DVD Forum is a standards board; that's what I meant about Sony making their own standards."

BDA Board of Directors

Apple
Dell
HP
Hitachi
LG
Mitsubishi Electric
Panasonic
Pioneer
Philips
Samsung
Sharp
Sony
Sun Microsystems
TDK
Thomson
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney
Warner Bros.

http://www.blu-raydisc.com/general_information/Section-14009/Index.html

Its hardly a Sony std.

"If the PS3 does spur BD movie sales, then BD may win. If the majority of people use their PS3 for games, then BD will die."

More speculation... stop the hating.

Zero @ Nov 11th 2006 11:54PM

Well i just got one, but i have a quick qestion all i have right now is a Sony CRT 34" native resolution i think is 720p or 1080i o do i really need a 1080p tv set

lets just put the gun down and we go get me those fries @ Nov 11th 2006 11:59PM

MGM is owned by sony man, havent you seen the cross promotion of the new 007 movie with the 007 thumb drives, 007 tx laptops, etc. MGM is not on any kind of fence. GET YOUR DAMN FACTS STR8.

Xyzzy @ Nov 12th 2006 12:13AM

#35 - No, 1080p is not really necessary for much of anything (despite the BD claims to the contrary).

#34 - You listed the Board of Directors. That doesn't meant it isn't a Sony standard. Who owns the Blu-Ray rights? Sony.

http://www.blu-raydisc.info/
"Sony, by appointment by the above Blu-ray Disc Association Board of Directors as the Blu-ray Disc License Entity is responsible for Blu-ray Disc Information Agreement (IA) and Blu-ray Disc License Agreement."

Sony owns Blu-Ray. The DVD Forum owns HD-DVD. HUGE difference.

You don't think that MS had to do all the software for the HD-DVD drive? You don't honestly think that companies make their consumer electronic devices themselves, do you? I bet that Sony, Samsung, and Pioneer have the same drive inside (not sure, but I would doubt they're all making their own drive). No different.

I didn't realize that the PS3 was released already... Their standalone player has been delayed forever.

HD-DVDs are NOT region coded, I'm not making that up. Check AVSForum.com -- terminator 2, for example, is available overseas on HD-DVD (even though it's BD in the States).

And what do you mean, "meh" on the sales rankings of HD-DVD vs BD? Currently HD-DVD is outselling BD somewhere between 3-1 and 11-1 (depending on what report you read). My comment is very accurate -- if PS3 doesn't spur people to buy movies, the format is going to die because people aren't spending $800+ on standalone BD players. No hate, simply facts.

Ralph @ Nov 12th 2006 12:28AM

Got mine on Friday. I have a 42" Sony LCD rear projection, and it looks awesome. I bought the Toshiba HD player a couple months ago, took it back cause it was slow as hell and a little too pricey. The 360 drive looks as good, if not better, than the HD-A1. And, this is running through component rather than the HD-A1's HDMI. Oh yeah, I'm running at 720p and I can't say enough of how amazing it is. Sorry for the long post, but it seems like people on this site like to concentrate on flaming each other and new tech, and don't take the time to realize that we all are geeks. And geeks love technology. I'm guessing you all are still using 386's running at 33Mhz, using a dot matrix monitor and printer, listen to cassette tapes, and don't own a single dvd right? Oh yeah, and if I hear the word fanboy one more time, i'm going to gouge my eyes out with a laserdisc.

Steve2 @ Nov 12th 2006 12:48AM

Xyzzy.
You're right. Warner does HD-DVD also. However, the HD-DVD releases are not better than the BluRay ones. The recent ones are identical. It was the earlier releases (mostly from Sony) that were poor transfers on BluRay.

HD-DVD supports region coding. Not all HD-DVD discs are region coded though. This is exactly the same as with BluRay and with DVD.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/05/26/hd_dvd_to_get_region_coding/

The HD-DVD to BluRay sales figures you talk about are obsolete now. Those figures were correct when there were something like 3K BluRay players sold and 10K HD-DVD HD-DVD players sold. Now there have been 100,000+ BluRay players sold and 50,000-100,000 HD-DVD players sold. That's 1-1. By Friday, there will be 500,000 BluRay Players and 100,000 HD-DVD players. HD-DVD was winning the sales at the point where the sales were basically zero on both sides.

Your stuff about who owns each is, again, incorrect. This was pointed out before. You ignore it for some reason.

RCA (Thomson) doesn't make drives at all. I should have been more specific when I said hardware. I was referring to the makers of optical drives. Yes, more companies will take the drives made by Toshiba and put them into HD-DVD players. Microsoft just did. More companies than 3 will make BluRay players from Sony, Samsung and Pioneer drives too.

I don't expect many $800 standalone BluRay (or HD-DVd) player to be sold. The prices will obviously have to drop on both sides. And they will. My first DVD player was $1000. Did that doom DVD to failure?

I agree 1080P isn't a big deal right now. Movies are 24fps anyway. This may change in the future. TV shows will certainly be shot in 1080P/60 (even though they air in 1080i). It is unclear if when that time comes, if the companies will go through the trouble of putting 1080P/60 on the discs when it'll make them take up twice as much space for limited benefit.

It doesn't matter what face you put in it. Sony owns virtually all the patents for BluRay and collects the majority of the fees. Toshiba owns virtually all the patents for HD-DVD and collects the majority of the fees. Arguments over these fees is why Toshiba decided to go it alone on HD-DVD and not join the rest of the industry in BluRay.

Your "no hate, just facts" comment is ridiculous. You're way off on the facts, so that pretty much just leaves hate driving your opinions.

DakidOG @ Nov 12th 2006 12:53AM

Ok let me understand: you pay 400$ for a 360 and another 200$ for hd-dvd, that equals 600$. So why is there such a problem with the ps3's price?

Remember the ps3 comes with it's hi definition video player built in.

JG @ Nov 12th 2006 1:02AM

I am watching HD-DVD movies on my new xbox 360 hd-dvd player using my logietch universal 360 remote and life is good.

Nate @ Nov 12th 2006 1:14AM

to #41 Because most people don't give a shit about HD movies, therefore they don't want the added cost to the PS3, on the 360, however you get an option of having it or not having it.

Final Light @ Nov 12th 2006 1:19AM

i got one just today, i've had a hd dvd player since they first came out but i just had to get one of my 360. enjoying every second of it...
check it out...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v358/BlindSniper005/360hddvdlowres.jpg

Freakhead @ Nov 12th 2006 1:34AM

Fugly

lets just put the gun down and we go get me those fries @ Nov 12th 2006 1:47AM

41. Ok let me understand: you pay 400$ for a 360 and another 200$ for hd-dvd, that equals 600$. So why is there such a problem with the ps3's price?

Remember the ps3 comes with it's hi definition video player built in.

Posted at 12:53AM on Nov 12th 2006 by DakidOG 0 stars

yeh i mean the 500 dollar ps3 has the same amount of harddrive space as the "premium xbox 360 console" but when u add the hd dvd drive its 100 dollars more...

XBOX PROPRIETARY HDD 20 GIG IS : $100.00 http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360harddrive/default.htm

to match the $600.00 60 gig ps3 u (xbox owner) has to spend:

$200.00 for two (2) 20 gig hdds
$200.00 for the (1) hd dvd drive
&400.00 for the (1) premium console
$50.00 for the (1) year of xbl
$850.00 TOTAL PRE TAX.

yet the ps3 is sooooo expensive and bulky (take a good look at all those wires and the size of the hd dvd drive, and the fact that it uses another plug)

delerious @ Nov 12th 2006 2:11AM

@46, The bad thing is, M$ is using an expensive solution for setting up the 360 HDD versus the PS3's ucheaper HDDs since Sony doesn't have to manufacture enclosures.

And, sorry to tell you, 20GB is plenty of space.

The ZeroCorpse @ Nov 12th 2006 2:21AM

@46

The difference is that I already have an Xbox 360, so the cost to me RIGHT NOW is $200 versus $600 for the PS3.

Now let me address your ignorant break-down of pricing:

"$200.00 for two (2) 20 gig hdds
$200.00 for the (1) hd dvd drive
&400.00 for the (1) premium console
$50.00 for the (1) year of xbl
$850.00 TOTAL PRE TAX. "

1. Why would I need two 20GB HDDs? The one I have isn't even half full yet, and its loaded with games, videos, music, patches, and cache info. I fail to see how having a spare would make any sense.

2. The HD-DVD drive is optional. If I'm not a movie watcher, I don't HAVE to purchase it. The price is NOT part of the SKU if I want to play games. This gives me the CHOICE to get into video or not. If I want, I can just download HD movies instead.

3. Yes. The Premium Console is $400 and worth every penny.

4. You do not need to pay for Xbox Live Silver. It's FREE. You only need Gold to play online with others. Downloads, patches, video, and all the other stuff is available on Silver. It is also STILL speculation to say that Sony's online service will provide the same quality experience for free; You may be required to pay a server fee to EA, or the other publishers. You may need to pay a monthly fee for the individual games. So far, it's free, but Sony can't possibly keep the servers running well for free, and they WILL work out some premium pay service.

The fact is that most of us have the 360 already, and we transferred our Live subscription from our old Xbox, so that's not any extra to us either. If we want movies, we can pick up the $200 add-on and that's all we spend this month: $200 + tax.

If a person wants to JUST PLAY GAMES, they can do that on the Xbox 360 for as little as $329.00 (Xbox 360 core + memory card). What's the bottom-line price for someone who JUST wants to play games on the PS3? $500 is the lowest you'll spend. You can't get it ANY CHEAPER than $500 and you're probably going to be lucky to find one AT ALL this year.

So go ahead and tell us-- What's the lowest price you can pay to JUST PLAY GAMES on your PS3. Come on. Admit it. You can't get into HD gaming with Sony for less than $500 because Sony is FORCING you to get all the other stuff at the same time.

I don't want the other stuff all at once. I may not want it at all.

I swear, you guys complain about how Macs are all-in-one and allegedly aren't upgradeable because they're integrated and proprietary (which isn't true anymore, actually), but you run right out and grab a PS3 which is more integrated, all-in-one, and proprietary than any Mac, and it does FAR less, and costs the same as a mid-level Mac to boot!

Your priorities are screwy.

Art Vandelay @ Nov 12th 2006 2:31AM

You Sony fanbois make me sick! You guys just can't get the Sony c*ck out of your mouths. I'm finding more and more that Sony nuts are mindless sheep who are willingly being led to their wallets/choices demise. Follow Sony right into the slaughter house you fanboi twits...

lets just put the gun down and we go get me those fries @ Nov 12th 2006 3:54AM

i guess you guys have zero culture and dont have a good size library of music, movies, pictures... i have atleast 23 gigs worth of armin van buuren above and beyond rips... but hey when xbl starts selling downloadable hd movies, your going to want that bigger hdd.

49. You Sony fanbois make me sick! You guys just can't get the Sony c*ck out of your mouths. I'm finding more and more that Sony nuts are mindless sheep who are willingly being led to their wallets/choices demise. Follow Sony right into the slaughter house you fanboi twits...

Posted at 2:30AM on Nov 12th 2006 by Art Vandelay 1 star

C H I L L T H E F U C K O U T M A N.

Steve2 @ Nov 12th 2006 4:11AM

ZeroCorpse:
I don't want to just play games, okay? I want a high-def disc player too. I paid $830 for my first DVD player, that was almost 10 years ago now. And it was worth it. I paid $1K for my LaserDisc player! A PS3 is a STEAL at $500 for a BluRay player.

And it plays games too. In my case, you might as well ask me how much it would cost to get a car without an engine. I know you don't feel the same way, I understand. But you should also attempt to understand other people's situations.

PS3 is not more all-in-one and proprietary than a Mac. First of all, over half the Mac models Apple offers have a built-in display. That's more all-in-one than PS3.

The PS3 does about as much as my Intel Mac Mini. A $600 PS3 (my Mac Mini was $600) comes with a larger HDD, reads BluRay discs (but writes no discs, unlike my Mac). Both will drive a 1080p HDTV at full res (my Mac Mini is attached to my 720p TV).

The PS3 and Mac both run UNIX and support 3rd party USB keyboard, mice, headsets and USB gamepads (including a Dual-Shock with a $15 converter). The PS3 and Mac both support 3rd party Bluetooth keyboards, mice and headsets. The 360 doesn't support 3rd party USB gamepads or 3rd party Bluetooth keyboards, mice and headsets. Instead you must buy their gamepads and $60 wireless headsets (which are low quality anyway, check the reviews). It doesn't support Bluetooth keyboards or mice at all. PS3 can save games to the internal HD, which you can upgrade yourself easily. It also can save games to a Memory Stick, CF or SD card. 360 only saves games to MS 1st-party HD or MS proprietary memory cards.

Honestly, if you look at it, the only thing looking proprietary is the 360. How quickly will you end up giving back the $100 you save up front in having to buy MS wireless headsets, hard drives and memory cards? Let alone a Wi-Fi adapter if you need it (I don't).